DINERS enjoying a meal out in Southampton were evacuated from a newly opened restaurant near the city's Ocean Village after a derelict building next door caught fire in a suspected arson attack.

Customers were led to safety from the basement of Canute's Caf in Canute Road after choking black smoke poured into the building from a blaze at next door's abandoned BTC social club building.

Nobody was injured in the incident but today restaurant owner Craig Fox-Johnson says the blaze has caused damage worth thousands of pounds to the restaurant, which has only been open a matter of weeks.

Mr Fox-Johnson told the Daily Echo he would have to close the restaurant and replace furniture - as well as plants which were badly damaged in the blaze which took place on Sunday night.

Mr Fox-Johnson said: "We have only been open for two weeks. We will have to replace the plants and refurbish inside. It will cost thousands to replace the furniture."

The drama began at about 10.30pm on Sunday when the blaze broke out in the ground floor of the building opposite the entrance to Ocean Village which is due to be knocked down and turned into flats.

There was extensive damage to the ground floor of the building and the first floor was badly damaged by smoke.

Firefighters took about one and a half hours to bring the blaze under control.

A spokesman for Hampshire Fire and Rescue said fire investigation teams had launched an investigation to try and determine the cause of the fire.

He said: "There is an on-going investigation. It is a possible arson attack."